Washington, D.C., Dec. 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands presented Mr. Peter Oosterveer, CEO of Arcadis, with the 2021 Holland on the Hill Heineken Award for his work to grow the economic relationship between the Netherlands and the United States through entrepreneurship.
The work of Arcadis, a global design and consultancy firm, is more important now than ever before. As the world increasingly experiences the impact of climate change and rising sea levels, while still dealing with the impact of COVID-19, Arcadis sits at the forefront of creating effective solutions in water management, flood protection, resiliency, sustainability, remediation, and mobility.
As he presented the Heineken Award to Mr. Oosterveer, Ambassador André Haspels said, “Under Peter Oosterveer’s leadership, Arcadis harnesses its expertise to confront climate change, urbanization, and digitalization, some of the biggest shared challenges of our time. And in doing so, Oosterveer and Arcadis serve as an illustration and inspiration for how the Netherlands and the United States can work together for the benefit of its people. This is a strategy that is not just good business, it’s good for the planet.”
The company’s work spans many forms of resilience and climate adaptation across the U.S. For example, Arcadis has partnered with the New York Department of Health to analyze wastewater and detect the presence of COVID-19 in the community, helped develop New Orleans’ new flood defense system after Hurricane Katrina, and continues to provide debris removal and clean-up efforts following California’s wildfires. Arcadis also partners with many private-sector organizations and industry to help improve their long-term resiliency and sustainability.
“Climate change is the most pressing challenge of our time. Through the solutions we bring to our customers, we aim to accelerate the reduction of carbon emissions, support energy transition and make the world more resilient to the consequences of climate change. The U.S. and the Netherlands have a long history of learning from one another to develop resilient climate solutions. On behalf of Arcadis, I am honored to be recognized for our work to reduce flood risk across borders and create resilient communities. We look forward to generating new, powerful approaches that address climate risk in the U.S. and the Netherlands alike,” said Oosterveer.
This year’s ceremony took place on Capitol Hill. Members of the Congressional Caucus on the Kingdom of the Netherlands participated in the event. Representative Bill Huizenga (R, MI-2), co-chair of the caucus, gave opening remarks. Representatives Garret Graves (R, LA-6) and John Garamendi (D, CA-3) spoke to the impact of Arcadis’ work in New Orleans and California.
The Holland on the Hill Heineken Award, named for Freddy Heineken, honors an entrepreneur who has made a substantial and positive impact on the economic ties between the Netherlands and the United States. Previous recipients include: Michelle Browdy of IBM in 2020, Alexander R. Wynaendts of Aegon in 2019, David Hyman of Netflix in 2018, Dick Boer of Ahold Delhaize in 2017, Victoria B. Mars of Mars Inc. in 2016, Paul Polman of Unilever in 2015, and Werner Vogels of Amazon.com in 2014.
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